Jiang Jiaojiao paused slightly as she strung the copper coins together. "As long as there's income every day, I can give you a new hair ornament that costs two taels of silver, or even a more expensive one with filigree and jade inlay."

Su Peng knew perfectly well how expensive cloisonné jade inlay was.

He shook his head, "What kind of person am I? There's no need for such expensive things. A simple openwork silver crown will suffice."

She looked at Su Peng with a puzzled expression and asked, "Why do people say that Fatty Wang from the next street can earn a string of cash a day?"

Su Peng put his legs down and said earnestly, "Wife, please don't listen to those old women who are helping out. We hire people for everything from buying to selling, and it's already good enough if we can make a profit in a day."

"Besides, the location on the next street is better than ours. Fatty Wang and his wife work from dawn till dusk, and their family helps out. They can't compare to us, who just sit back and do nothing."

Jiang Jiaojiao considered it in her mind and it seemed to make sense.

She looked at the money box, which contained several hundred copper coins and her dowry jewelry.

He then looked up at Su Peng and said, "We don't have two taels of silver here. Let's postpone the purchase of the hair ornament."

"My lady, those jewelry pieces are outdated. Why don't you take one and exchange it for a new one? Exchanging your hair ornament with me would be a good thing."

Jiang Jiaojiao quickly closed the lid of the makeup box. "No, this is my last bit of savings. When I married into your family, I had some cash on hand. Your father borrowed it, and you also misappropriated it. If this continues, even my meager savings won't be enough for you to take."

Su Peng's face darkened instantly when he heard her scolding him.

He stood up abruptly. "Why did my father lend you money? Don't you know the answer? If your sister had acknowledged him that time, we would have had more money than we could spend."

"It's because you and your mother don't know how to behave that you've offended my cousin so badly. I haven't even settled the score with you, and you're already criticizing my family!"

"If your mother hadn't mistreated her, why would she hate you so much, and even the Su family as a whole? If I had known all this from the beginning, I wouldn't have married a worthless man like you..."

Su Peng became increasingly angry as he spoke, and his words became reckless, ultimately preventing him from uttering the words "broken shoe."

"Enough! You just look down on me, don't you? Who said that taking a concubine would be the end of it? Why do you have to humiliate me like this?"

Jiang Jiaojiao slammed her hand on the table, tears welling up in her eyes.

Even though she cried her heart out, Su Peng showed no pity whatsoever.

Still fuming, she said, "You openly make Caiyan my concubine, but you don't let her serve me at night. What kind of concubine is that?"

Jiang Jiaojiao took out a handkerchief and covered her face with tears, "When did I ever stop you from going to the outer room?"

"Alright, you said it yourself. Tonight, I'll have Yan'er serve me, so you're not allowed to give her the cold shoulder or take your anger out on her for no reason."

These past few days, Su Peng has been busy with various tasks, including trying to please Jiang Jiaojiao to get money to hire people to set up a stall. He hasn't even had a chance to meet Caiyan at Tingxue Pavilion.

Today there's a strong wind and heavy snow, and there's no charcoal fire in Tingxue Pavilion. Even if he went there, he'd be so cold that he'd lose all his enthusiasm.

Taking advantage of the argument with Jiang Jiaojiao, he could expose the matter, so that he would have no scruples when he wanted Caiyan in the future.

Su Peng speaks without thinking, and his words are full of protection for Caiyan.

Jiang Jiaojiao stopped sobbing and looked up at her handsome husband with her red eyes.

With eyes full of resentment, she said, "In your heart, Caiyan is more important than me, isn't she! You want to favor a concubine over your wife? Is this the kind of family education your father always talks about from a scholarly family?"

"Nonsense? Caiyan is just a concubine, not even a mistress. How can you say she's favored?" Su Peng flicked his sleeves and was about to leave.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Young Madam, Young Master, something terrible has happened! The wind is too strong today, so we can't set up our stall outside." Caiyan's voice preceded her entry into the house.

She was stunned when she lifted the curtain and saw the two people inside, their expressions tense and hostile.

She came at the wrong time.

The son-in-law was furious, while the young mistress had red eyes and was holding a handkerchief, weeping.

Especially the way the young mistress looked at him; it seemed to hold resentment and disgust, as if she wanted to devour him whole.

"Young Madam, did I do something to upset you?"

Caiyan stopped in her tracks, clutching the hem of her cotton-padded coat with both hands. She was so nervous that she didn't dare to breathe. She raised her eyes timidly, asked a question, and then lowered her head again.

Su Peng strode forward and blocked Caiyan's path, completely ignoring the important fact that they couldn't set up their stall today.

His voice softened considerably, "Yan'er, you go out first, this is none of your business."

Jiang Jiaojiao was determined to make money and live a life of pride and success.

Before Caiyan could even leave, she quickly called out, "Wait! What did you just say?"

Caiyan dared not look up at Su Peng's lustful gaze.

She moved aside and bowed to Jiang Jiaojiao, saying, "Reporting to the young mistress, the wind is so strong today that a piece of the cloth used to set up the tent has been lost. The weather is too bad to set up the stall."

Jiang Jiaojiao knew how heavy the snow was outside, and she suppressed the emotions in her eyes.

He methodically instructed his subordinates: "Pass down the word that we will not set up our stall today. We will wait until the heavy snowstorm passes before making any decisions. Freeze the skewers of meat in the snow."

"Thank you for your understanding, young mistress. I will go and deliver the message right away." Caiyan curtsied and was about to leave.

Jiang Jiaojiao added, "Remember to tell the old women who do odd jobs that we won't need them for the next couple of days. Also, tell the helpers that they won't be paid when the stall isn't open."

Caiyan: "We agreed on a monthly salary when we hired the person, is that okay?"

Jiang Jiaojiao retorted angrily, "What's wrong with it? Who has the spare money to support an idle person?"

Caiyan knew Jiang Jiaojiao's temper well; she wouldn't tolerate anyone contradicting her. So she could only lower her head, agree, and leave.

Su Peng wanted money but failed. He originally planned to deduct some money from the stall owner's money for other purposes, as he always did.

Today was not as I wished, and I felt uneasy and had no desire to stay in my room.

As soon as Caiyan left the inner room, he chased after her and pulled her into his arms from behind.

Caiyan shuddered in surprise and whispered, "Young Master."

Su Peng lowered his head and kissed Caiyan's earlobe. "Yan'er, serve me tonight."

Caiyan quickly broke free from Su Peng's embrace, pointed outside the door, and then ran out in a flash.

Su Peng quickly chased after him, but when he reached the corridor, he found no one there.

He grabbed Cai's arm and said, "You seductive little vixen, you'd be willing to go without charcoal in Tingxue Pavilion?"

Caiyan raised her eyes and looked at Su Peng reproachfully, "Young Master, when did I ever invite you to Tingxue Pavilion?"

"Then what did you mean by pointing outside just now?"

With a forceful movement, Su Peng sent Caiyan crashing heavily into his chest.

Caiyan turned around and said, "Of course I asked the young master to come out and talk. Didn't you see? The way the young mistress looked at me just now was terrifying, like she wanted to eat me up."

Su Peng lowered his head and kissed Caiyan's fair cheek. "Don't pay any attention to her. If it weren't for the fact that I need her to pay, I wouldn't even want to touch her."

Caiyan, having tasted the sweetness, couldn't help but feel uneasy about it.

She returned the kiss shyly, "Master is so good to me. I will wait for you in the outer room tonight."